[at-l] butane lighters, was waterproof matches

[gaudet@mediaone.net (Arthur Gaudet)]

Last year while hiking south, I sat through a rainy day at the Tom 
Floyd Wayside shelter just at Front Royal. I cleaned up my gear, made 
a list for shopping, and completely disassembled the strike mechanism 
on a BIC lighter. It had stopped working because it got wet earlier 
in the day. I dried the flint and wheel, reassembled it and got on 
with my hot chocolate drink.

This had happened before, on my '97 thru, and I found it 
inconvenient. Up until that hike, I had been a "strike anywhere 
match" kind of guy. I had learn my backpacking technique in the late 
60's early 70's and I don't think butane lighters were around. 
Rambleon, a legend from '97, used a butane lighter to light his 
whisperlight. What a performance! The best was when the stove was 
still hot, had pressure and he struck the spark just when the fumes 
were up. His hand traced a curve he had learned well, and when the 
flame came his fingers, and the lighter, were already on safe 
territory away from the stove. This I learned to do. I won't go back 
to using matches.

Question for the group: As a non-smoker I'm not aware of the 
variations and qualities of the different lighters out there. Is 
there a preferred unit? I know the little BIC served me well, but a 
lighter-afficionado once sneared at my choice and showed me another. 
I didn't notice the brand. How about a breakdown of those commonly 
available?

-- 
Arthur D. Gaudet         	"Is walking down called hiking, too?"
(RockDancer)  	                 -heard at the top of Mt Washington, NH